Some introductory info on this beer, brewed 4/3/10

• Based on Jamil’s “Hoppiness is an IPA” in Brewing Classic Styles
• Helpers: Olivia, daughter. Vicki, wife.

Ingredients

• 4lbs 2-Row American Pale Malt
• .75 lbs Munich malt
• .5 Crystal 10
• .25 Crystal 40
• 3lbs Dry Malt Extract
• .75 lb dextrose
• 1 oz Magnum 14.4% AA @ 60 min (pellets)
• 1 oz Centennial 9.2% AA @ 10 min
• 1 oz Simcoe 12.2% AA @ 5 min
• 1 oz Amarillo 7.5% AA @ 0 min
• 1 TSP Irish Moss @ 15 Min
• Safale US-05 dry yeast, hydrated

Mashed all grains for about 80-90 minutes total at around 150. Was able to keep temperature pretty consistent this time. Preboil volume was about 4 gallons, post boil closer to 3 gallons.

I decided to replace some of the DME with dextrose after being told some brewers do this in IPA’s to increase the fermentability of the wort. My hope was that it would help the yeast eat more of the sugar, providing me with a bit dryer beer and less syrupy than some of my previous batches. The biggest mistake I feel I made in this batch was not putting enough DME in. I got a bit lazy with my math and decided that 3 lbs DME and .75lbs dextrose was enough to get my OG up where it needed to be. I fell short by almost two whole points. Target OG: 1.065, my OG: 1.048. So even though this is not likely going to resemble a true IPA, all in all, it was a great day to brew, I had a good time with my daughter (until she got a bit bored), and I hope I come out with a very hoppy pale ale at around 5%. I just hope its not too bitter because of the hop / malt ratio. I really do not know what to expect. Its bubbling away in my basement where the temperature is below 70 degrees. I will update as this batch progresses!

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